Melanie Schefft — Alaska
Follow along as I explore the drama of nature taken to new heights
Sure, Denali National Park & Preserve is my final destination this summer, but witnessing the Earth's greatest landscapes throughout the U.S. and Canada along the way is my ultimate goal. Come along with Chi Chi the wonder dog and me as we explore God’s creative majesty from the U.S. Midwest, through the plains and mountains of Canada, to the six-million-acre park surrounding Denali Mountain — formerly Mt. McKinley — the nation’s highest mountain rising 20,310 feet above sea level.
Heading north
Checking off bucket list dreams is a daunting task but the long and winding roads (and yes, even the occasional flat tire) are all part of the journey.
Heading out early on Saturday, June 18, pulling a 19’ Rockwood MiniLite camper trailer behind my SUV, led to a jaunt through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin (the Dells are amazing) and Minnesota, before bunking down on night one outside Fargo, North Dakota.
Between bug guts and the occasional rain splats, the view along the northern U.S. took us through blue skies with fluffy clouds and a variety of terrain — some that could put you to sleep.
North Dakota and Saskatchewan
Too tired to search for a local campground, we slept in a truck stop near Fargo.
Protected by our “breaker breaker good buddies,” we slept sound until we set out for the plains (and trust me…the plains are flat and go on for hundreds of miles) through North Dakota and into the Canadian wheat and oil fields of Saskatchewan.
Finally, rolling hills and mountains
Dragging through two full days of flat nothingness, the plains suddenly began to turn into hills as we headed for Calgary and a little town called High River (the filming location of my Netflix favorite “Heartland”). The 15-year series is about a horse ranch near Calgary, its horse-whispering young protagonist and the tangled web of relationships between the Bartlett family and friends in the imaginary town of Hudson.
While driving through High River I saw many scene locations, including the famous “Maggie’s Diner” where the characters met for coffee, bought tack and feed for their horses and just spent time chewing the fat.
Then suddenly, on the fringe of Calgary, my eyes filled with tears as the mountains rose before me, high and splendid, as we entered Banff National Park near Calgary, Alberta.
The mountains are calling and I must go
~ John Muir (and Tracy McElveen), inspirationists
Banff National Park
Rocky Mountain peaks, turquoise glacial lakes, a picture-perfect mountain town and village, abundant wildlife and scenic drives come together in Canada’s first national park and the flagship of the nation’s park system.
The 167 miles of winding roads through Banff took about four hours to drive, but not before blowing a camper-trailer tire.
I felt a jerk, heard a grinding pitch and watched the tread roll into the ditch like a hula hoop. After quickly pulling onto the shoulder, I called the RV emergency line and got a tow service (two hours later) to change my tire.
The mechanic was straight out of Hulu’s “Letterkenny” series. He scrunched his eyebrows and said, “OOOuuuu, ya blew a tire, eh?”
30 minutes later I was back on my way and into Jasper to camp for the night.
Next morning, I stopped at Canadian Tire for two new heavy-duty trailer tires and headed north toward the Alaskan Highway.
The Alaskan Highway
From huge oceans and dense forests to sweeping plains and rolling hills, nature paints a picture along the Rocky Mountains that can take your breath away.
As British Columbia’s serrated horizon goes on for days, wildlife, white spruce trees and pristine waterways appear around every corner.
The dreamy Alaskan Highway was only interrupted by the occasional potholes and loose gravel, as road workers were along every 10-mile stretch trying to keep up with winter’s brutal wrath.
Before reaching Canada’s Yukon Territory, Muncho Lake appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around the Rockies for miles like a turquoise snake.
Every turn was more spectacular than the first. I don’t think I took a breath again until I was long into Yukon.
Yukon’s surprising temps and new discovery
My long-held beliefs that Canada’s Yukon Territory was snow covered and dotted with igloos everywhere couldn’t be further from the truth. The lush greenery was all around us and the temps in the summer get up to 90 degrees.
The local radio stations were replete with programming, chatting with local scientists about the baby woolly mammoth discovered Tuesday, in Yukon’s Klondike gold fields, still frozen in permafrost from 30,000 years ago during the last ice age.
Government officials and representatives of the Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin Traditional Territory, where the ancient animal was discovered, said it's the most complete and best-preserved woolly mammoth ever found in North America.
The stunningly preserved mammoth calf, named Nun cho ga, still has its trunk, hair, skin, toenails and intestines intact.
Members of Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin, the Yukon government, Treadstone Mine and the University of Calgary with the mummified baby woolly mammoth, Nun cho ga. Photo/Government of Yukon
Enter Alaska
Once I was back in the U.S., gallons instead of liters and miles instead of kilometers made me feel right at home. But the long flat landscape for the first four hours was a bittersweet surprise after the Canadian vistas. But before I knew it, rolling hills emerged into towering monuments again along the road to Fairbanks.
Now on day six, I camped out one last time before finishing the last 2.5-hour journey to Denali National Park & Preserve.
Arriving at the park’s headquarters, I was greeted by the Park Ranger-Volunteer program manager, and my friend and former art history professor Theresa Leininger-Miller (who worked the first two months of our four-month park volunteer position).
I’ll enjoy giving tours along Denali’s Savage River and working on marketing in the headquarter’s office during Alaska’s summer in July and autumn in August before they shut down after Labor Day (if it doesn’t start snowing before then).
My first two days were busy visiting a local pollinator garden, Native Alaskan museum and a 3-hour paddle boat ride up the Chena River in Fairbanks.
Stay tuned for more updates as I view the nation’s highest mountain peak from the air and introduce Chi Chi to the wonders of dog sledding.
